What started as a personal journey of a doctor turned patient morphed into a way to share what’s universal in dealing with cancer, in my case a nasty leukemia (CLL), a failed transplant and a successful clinical trial. The telling of my journey has become a journey to teach about CLL, related blood issues and all cancers. Please visit our new website http://cllsociety.org for the latest news and information. Smart patients get smart care™. If you want to reach me, email bkoffmanMD@gmail.com

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Ouch

I have a sore bottom (actually the posterior superior iliac spine) from my bone marrow biopsy today. For the squeamish, I won't go into the details, but let's just say it was not easy to get the core specimen. But the nice PA stuck with it long enough to recover good samples for the aspirate and and a 1 cm core for the biopsy. Much better than last time when the core specimen was crushed and pretty useless, so this time my results should be much more precise.

It was harder on her than me. The lidocaine takes away most of the pain, but they can't numb bone, and the feeling of having your marrow sucked into a syringe is not something I would wish on anyone. Still I need to know and it really wasn't that bad. Honest.

My blood tests done at the same time at UCSD were great. Platelets were at the wonderful level of over 380,000. More that 380,000! Not bad for a kid with ITP. Rest of the blood count and chemistries were all great, but my BP is up (140/74) again. I will consult my FP tomorrow about adding a medication. My blood pressure was great off all meds until I started on the cyclosporin and by tomorrow I will be on three drugs to lower it. But it is worth it, especially when I get the good news on the biopsy, Work your magic, cyclosporin!

We stopped in Leucadia at the Greenery Cafe on the way home where I enjoyed an amazingly satisfying raw organic vegan lunch of the world's best raw vegan burger on a raw vegan bun with raw mustard and raw ketchup. RAW RAW. Now if the can only find a way to make raw fries.

This evening I went to a Mastro's, an upscale steak house (I had a very dull vegan pasta, so it was a complete waste on me) to hear a friend and his partner give two excellent CME lectures on vitrious and retinal surgery and new treatments. Sat with a remarkable scientist from NASA. He and I were the only ones in the room who weren't eye surgeons. He was there because he had done some of the critical research that made the new meds and surgery possible. I just listened. It is good to stretch your mind, go outside your area of comfort.

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About Me

BkoffmanMD@gmail.com
A family doc and husband of 1 and father of 4 and grandfather of 3 who loves his family and his work. I live with no TV and no microwave, but wouldn't last a minute without friends, art, music, books and the beach. Hockey, good jokes and exotic travel are pretty important too. Writing, Talmud and Zen give meaning to my life. My diet is organic vegan, often raw. I hope the blog makes the load lighter and the path both safer and more fun for those who read it or are going to similar places. I want to help. I crave your comments. If you are new to the blog, check out the portrait my son Will painted (it is the first post), and my very first text post.